Canals and Railroads:

1
Canals and Railroads

• These methods of transportation were the key to
  Chicagos growth in the 1800s
• They helped Chicago grow faster than any other
  city in the Midwest
• The IM Canal and the citys first railroad both
  opened in 1848

2
This is the Canal Origins location in the
Bridgeportneighborhood of Chicago today
3
Canal Construction

• This is an actual picture of workers
• building the canal
• Construction took place from 1836 to 1848

4
Origins Site, 2800 S. Ashland

• This drawing from 1871 shows an attempt to deepen
  the canal and reverse the flow of the Chicago
  River
• This would not work, and the river would not be
  reversed until the Sanitary and Ship Canal was
  built in 1900 using technology that would later
  be used to build the Panama Canal

5
Route of the I M Canal

• The canal was 96 miles long, and it stretched
  from Chicago to LaSalle Peru
• Still passes through towns such as Lockport,
  Joliet, and Ottawa today
• Portion that was in Chicago is mostly paved over
  by the Stevenson Expressway (55) and can no
  longer be seen in the city

6
When the canal opened, boats often started off on
the Chicago River before heading into the canal
7
Towns along the I M Canal

• Many towns along the canal had grain elevators
• One in Seneca still exists today

8
Other historic views of towns along the IM Canal
9
Examples of aqueducts and locks
10
Though the canal was important for Chicago
history.

• It would not be long before the railroad would
  overtake the canal in importance

11
Galena and Chicago Union Railroad

• The first train was called the Pioneer, and it
  ran from Chicago to Galena
• On display at CHM

12
A train coming through Galena, Illinois, today
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Canals and railroads would help bring a lot of
businesses to Chicago, such as.
14
GRAIN TRADE
15
LUMBER
16
MEATPACKING
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MAIL-ORDER CATALOG
18
Over a century and a half later

• canals and railroads are still important ways
  that Chicago is connected to the rest of the
  country.

19
Today, the Sanitary and Ship Canal, opened in
1900, is still used for shipping goods.
20
And trains still link Chicago to the rest of the
state and country.